RED VELVET CAKE

2 ounces red food coloring (two small bottles for a deep red, one, if you want a lighter shade)

1 cup buttermilk

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9 inch round or square cake pans with vegetable cooking spray and dust with 1 tablespoon, each, cake flour, tapping upside down to remove the excess, and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, at least 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Carefully beat in red food coloring, scraping bowl frequently.

Beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk; then the remaining flour mixture. In a small bowl combine the vinegar and baking soda and quickly stir into the batter. Immediately pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out still moist, with large crumbs – or almost clean, but not wet/raw. Do not over-bake! Allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans by placing the wire rack on top of the cake and invert; allow to cool completely. (To ensure that your cake stays nice and moist, when the cake is out of the pan and on the rack, lay plastic wrap loosely over the top as it cools.) Frost with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. (This needs to be kept in the fridge and actually gets better a day later. I put toothpicks on the top to keep the plastic wrap from ruining the frosting.)

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

3 cups heavy whipping cream

Two 8-ounce pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Gently fold in whipped cream. (This makes a lot of frosting, but it’s worth it! You may not use it all on the cake, but it’s great on other things, too.)